We bought the Canon 40mm Pancake last year and have been working with it off and on. It’s a great size for travel and street photography. It’s super lightweight so you won’t be sore after a full day of shooting and fits right into your pocket for easy carrying. At 40mm, you can move back a few steps to get more of the scene into the shot or a few steps closer for an intimate portrait. The f/2.8 allows more light in and gives you nice bokeh to the background to separate your subjects. It’s affordable at only $179 on Amazon right now and can be a nice gift for those budding photographers in your life.

However, sharpness with this lens is a hit or miss. No matter how steady your hands are, the focus will probably be off 40% of the time. So when shooting travel or street, you really can’t afford to miss those once-in-a-lifetime shots. It still is a good lens for controlled environment and portrait photography.

It’s a great prime lens for beginners to practice with and when you do get sharp images, the results are great. It’s a good cheap lens to get you started on your prime collection. With the cost so low, you can always upgrade later on. Check out some samples below from the Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis, MN.